It is well known that wars are a time when people wake up, sometimes, all the darkest and cruelest that is in human nature. Reading the memoirs of eyewitnesses of the events of the Second World War, getting acquainted with the documents, you are simply amazed at human cruelty, which at that time, it seems, simply knew no bounds. And it's not about fighting, war is war. We are talking about torture and executions that were applied to prisoners of war and the civilian population.

Germans

It is well known that the representatives of the Third Reich during the war put the matter of extermination of people simply on stream. Mass executions, killings in gas chambers are striking in their soulless approach and scale. However, in addition to these methods of killing, the Germans used others.

On the territory of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the Germans practiced burning entire villages alive. There were cases when people were thrown into pits and covered with earth while still alive.

But even this pales in comparison with the cases when the Germans approached the task in a particularly “creative” way.

It is known that in the Treblinka concentration camp two girls - members of the Resistance were boiled alive in a barrel of water. At the front, soldiers had fun tearing up prisoners tied to tanks.

In France, the Germans used the guillotine en masse. It is known that with the help of this device more than 40 thousand people were beheaded. Among others, the Russian princess Vera Obolenskaya, a member of the Resistance, was executed with the help of a guillotine.

At the Nuremberg trials, cases were made public when the Germans sawed people with hand saws. This happened in the occupied territories of the USSR.

Even to such a time-tested type of execution as hanging, the Germans approached "out of the box." To prolong the torment of the executed, they hung not on a rope, but on a metal string. The victim did not die immediately from a fracture of the vertebrae, as in the usual method of execution, but suffered for a long time. In this way, the participants in the conspiracy against the Fuhrer in 1944 were killed.

Moroccans

One of the least known pages in the history of the Second World War in our country is the participation in it of the French Expeditionary Force, which included the inhabitants of Morocco - the Berbers and representatives of other native tribes. They were called Moroccan Gumiers. The Gumiers fought against the Nazis, that is, they were on the side of the allies who liberated Europe from the "brown plague". But with their cruelty towards local population the Moroccans, by some estimates, surpassed even the Germans.

First of all, the Moroccans raped the inhabitants of the territories they captured. Of course, first of all, women of all ages suffered - from little girls to old women, but boys, teenagers and men who dared to resist them were also subjected to violence. As a rule, gang rape ended with the murder of the victim.

In addition, the Moroccans could mock the victims, gouging out their eyes, cutting off their ears and fingers, since such “trophies” increased the status of a warrior according to Berber ideas.

However, this behavior can be explained: these people lived in their Atlas Mountains in Africa practically at the level of the tribal system, were illiterate, and, having found themselves in the theater of military operations of the 20th century, transferred their medieval, in fact, ideas to it.

Japanese

If the behavior of the Moroccan Gumiers is understandable, then it is extremely difficult to find a reasonable interpretation for the actions of the Japanese.

There are a lot of memories of how the Japanese mocked prisoners of war, representatives of the civilian population of the occupied territories, as well as their own compatriots suspected of espionage.

One of the most popular punishments for espionage was cutting off fingers, ears, or even feet. Amputation was performed without anesthesia. At the same time, they carefully monitored so that the punished during the procedure would continuously feel pain, but at the same time survived.

In the prisoner of war camps for Americans and the British, this type of execution for rebellion was practiced as burial alive. The convict was placed vertically in a pit and covered with a heap of stones or earth. The man suffocated and died slowly, in terrible agony.

The Japanese also used the medieval execution by decapitation. But if in the era of the samurai, the head was cut off with one masterful blow, then in the 20th century there were not so many such blade masters. Inept executioners could thrash on the neck of the unfortunate many times before the head was separated from the neck. The suffering of the victim in this case is even difficult to imagine.

Another type of medieval execution that was used by the Japanese military was drowning in the waves. The convict is tied to a post dug into the shore in the tide zone. The waves slowly rose, the man choked and, finally, died painfully.

And, finally, the most, probably, the most terrible way of execution, which came from antiquity - tearing by growing bamboo. As you know, this plant is the fastest growing in the world. It grows by 10-15 centimeters per day. A man was chained to the ground, from which young shoots of bamboo looked out. For several days, the plants tore apart the body of the sufferer. After the end of the war, it became known that during the Second World War the Japanese used such a barbaric method of execution for prisoners of war.

Top 10 sophisticated and cruel executions invented by people

Since ancient times, people have come up with more and more sophisticated methods of execution, since death was not only a punishment, but also a real show. People went to watch the execution in much the same way as we now go to a concert.

And the more torment she delivered to the executed, the more public she gathered. We've rounded up ten of the creepiest and painful ways killings that people have ever come up with.

Col

This sophisticated execution came from the east, but was successfully used in Eastern Europe. The meaning is that a sharpened stake was inserted into the victim's anus, and then the person was placed vertically, and he drove the stake deeper and deeper with his own weight, tearing his insides. Sometimes they used not a sharp, but a stake rounded at the end, so that it would not pierce, but go deeper. Sometimes the depth of entry was limited by a transverse bar so that the stake did not reach the heart and vital organs - in this case, the unfortunate person could die from blood loss for up to several days.

Hook

In Russia, hanging on a hook was practiced. Basically, this execution was applied to the robbers and served as an edification for the rest, so that they understand that the “high road” will not lead to good things. A hook was stuck under the ribs of the condemned and hung up. The hands were tied behind the back so that the victim could not get out. A person could hang like this for several days, until he dies.

Burning at the stake

This is a favorite method of the Holy Inquisition used to execute heretics and witches. It was believed that fire cleanses the soul and contributes to its salvation. But the legend of purification does not lessen the cruelty of such an execution. First, all the hair on the face of a person was burned, then the tissues began to burn. At the same time, the executed inhaled hot air and thereby burned his lungs. The scientist Giordano Bruno, the famous Joan of Arc and many other worthy people died with this terrible, painful death.

Bamboo

This execution was invented in Asia. People noticed that bamboo grows at an incredible rate - up to thirty centimeters per day, and decided to use this property for killing. The victim was laid on his back on top of bamboo shoots and tied. During the day, the plant slowly grew through the human body, penetrating it with dozens of sprouts. Horrible, painful death.

blood eagle

This demonstrative execution was used among the Scandinavian tribes. The victim's ribs near the spine were cut with an ax on both sides, then they were bent and the lungs were taken out through the holes. In this state, with the lungs outward, a person could still live for some time. The execution is called the "Red Eagle", because the protruding lungs resembled the wings of an eagle.

Flaying

In the Middle Ages, the execution performed several functions at once. For the executed - this is a punishment, and for the rest - entertainment and edification. That is why such executions were often public and collected great amount spectators. The worse the punishment, the better. Skinning is probably one of the most spectacular methods of killing. A person was skinned alive, which was then nailed to the wall in public place as a reminder that punishment is inevitable and will be applied to anyone who breaks the law.

gutting

Also a very effective way to slowly kill a person. The offender's stomach was cut open and the insides were taken out. The task of the executioner was to keep the victim alive as long as possible. The intestines could be wound on a stick or roller. There are cases when the gut was nailed to a tree and a person was forced to walk around it, slowly winding itself around the trunk.

Rats

In this execution, the executioners used not only torment with pain, but also the animal fear of a person. A cage with rats was tied to the victim with a door to the body, and then they began to heat the cage with coals. Rats in a panic began to rush around the cage in search of a way out. As a result, they began to tear human flesh, gnawing the skin, bones, entrails, and went free either through the stomach, gnawing through the person, or through the mouth.

One of the most famous prisons in the world is the American prison Alcatraz ( Alcatraz), also known as The Rock (from English - Rock), which is located on a small island of the same name in the San Francisco Bay. The prison has been closed for several decades, but thanks to numerous stories and rumors, when people hear the word "Alcatraz" for a long time, they will think first of all about the prison, and not about the island itself!

The prison gained its fame not at all because of the numerous films shot here, but because of the prisoners who served time in their cells. Alcatraz contained the most brutal criminals in the United States! The island got its name in 1775, when Spaniard Juan Manuel Ayala arrived in San Francisco Bay ( Juan Manuel de Ayala). In total, there are three islands in the bay, and the Spaniard gave one of them the name Alcatraces. The meaning of this word is still hotly debated, but most agree that it translates as “pelican” or “strange bird”.

The island was originally used as a military stronghold, which was later converted into a federal penitentiary.

Alcatraz was famous for the fact that it was impossible to escape from it. The reason for this seemingly controversial statement is that the prison is located in the center of the bay near the city of San Francisco and can only be reached by water.

However, water is not the only obstacle in the path of a possible fugitive.

The fact is that the water temperature of the bay is not high, and the currents are very strong, so that even an excellent swimmer will not be able to overcome
the distance is just over two kilometers from the island to San Francisco.

Alcatraz was also the first long-term military prison. In the 1800s, prisoners of the civil and Spanish-American
wars were the first prisoners to arrive on the island. Later, due to the isolated location and
irresistible cold waters of the bay, the authorities considered Alcatraz as perfect place to hold dangerous prisoners.

In the beginning, Alcatraz or Alcazar was just another federal penitentiary, but over time the prison became famous after such criminals as George Kelly (George "Machine Gun" Kelly), Robert Stroud (Robert Franklin Stroud) served their time in it , Alvis Karpis (Alvin Karpis), Henry Young (Henry Young) and Al Capone (Al Capone). Criminals who could not be held by other correctional institutions were also located here. The average number of prisoners in Alcatraz was approximately 260, while for all the time during the 29 years of the prison's operation, 1545 prisoners visited it. During this time, there were attempts to escape, but there is not a single official record of the success of at least one of them. Several prisoners have disappeared, but they are all found to have drowned in the waters of the bay.

However, soon the first prisoners appeared on the island. These were not notorious criminals at all, but ordinary soldiers who violated any decree. The more prisoners became on Alcatraz, the fewer guns became in the fortress. It will take a few more years before the fortress finally loses its original meaning and turns into one of the most famous prisons on earth!

Already in 1909, the fortress was demolished, and a prison was built in its place. Construction was carried out over two years, and the main labor force were prisoners from the Pacific Division of the US Army Disciplinary Barracks. It is this structure that will later receive the name “Rock”.

The prison on Alcatraz Island was supposed to be a real dungeon for the most notorious criminals with minimal rights for prisoners. Thus, the US government wanted to show the public that it is doing everything possible to fight the crime that swept the country in the 20s and 30s of the last century.

In total, the Alcatraz prison was designed for 336 people, but usually it contained much fewer prisoners. Many believe that Alcatraz is one of the darkest and most cruel prisons on Earth, but this is not entirely true. Despite the fact that it was positioned as a maximum security prison, the cells here were single and quite comfortable. Many inmates from other prisons even applied for transfers to Alcatraz!

Al Capone, Arthur Doc Barker and George "Machine Gun" Kelly are some of the most notorious inmates of Alcatraz, but the vast majority of local criminals were far from notorious thugs and murderers.

Only those prisoners who were inclined to escape were usually put in prison on the island. The fact is that escaping from here was almost impossible. Of course, there were many attempts, and many prisoners even managed to get out of the prison itself, but leaving the island was an impossible task. strong currents and ice water killed a lot of fugitives who decided to swim to get to mainland! In total, during the time that Alcatraz was used as a federal prison, 14 escape attempts were made, in which a total of 36 people participated. None of them managed to leave the island alive ...

On March 21, 1962, the prison on Alcatraz Island was officially closed. It is believed that it was closed due to the significant cost of maintaining prisoners, as well as the need for costly restoration work. Several years passed, and in 1973 the legendary prison became available to the general public. Today Alcatraz is visited annually by tens of thousands of tourists.

The Alcatraz prison consisted of 336 cells for serving the sentence, divided into two large blocks "B" and "C", 36 isolated cells, 6 single cells in a separate block "D". The two cells at the end of block "C" were used as security break rooms. Most of the inmates at the Alcazar are those who have been found to be particularly violent and dangerous, those who may have attempted to escape, and those who are more likely to refuse to follow the rules and regulations of another federal penitentiary.

Inmates of Alcatraz could earn perks that included work, visits from family members, access to the prison library, leisure activities such as art and music. Prisoners had only four basic rights - food, clothing, shelter and medical care.

Alcatraz didn't have the equipment to commit death penalty, therefore, those prisoners who were sentenced to death were sent to San Quentin City Jail to be executed in gas chamber.

Despite strict rules and harsh standards for hardened criminals, Alcatraz mostly operated in a minimum security regime. The types of work performed by prisoners differed depending on the prisoner, the type of work and the degree of its responsibility. Many worked as servants: they cooked, cleaned, and did household chores for families living on the island. The security officers of Alcatraz lived on the island with their families in a separate building and, in fact, were partly prisoners of Alcatraz. In many cases, individual prisoners were even trusted to care for the children of the prison staff. Alcatraz was also home to several Chinese families who were hired as servants.

It is officially believed that there was no successful attempt to escape from the Rock, but so far five prisoners from Alcatraz are listed as "missing, presumably drowned."

* April 27, 1936 - Joe Bowers, who was assigned to burn garbage that day, suddenly began to climb the fence. The guard gave him a warning, but Joe ignored him and was shot in the back. He died from his wound in the hospital.

* December 16, 1937 - Theodore Cole and Ralph Roy, who worked in the store, decided to escape through the iron bars on the window. They managed to get out of the window, after which they ran to the water and disappeared into the San Francisco Bay. Despite the fact that it was on this day that a storm broke out, many believed that the fugitives managed to get to land. But officially they were considered dead.

* May 23, 1938 - James Limerick, Jimmy Lucas and Raphas Franklin, who worked in a woodwork shop, attacked an unarmed guard and killed him with a blow to the head with a hammer. The trio then climbed onto the roof and attempted to disarm the officer guarding the roof of the tower, but he opened fire. Limerick died from his wounds, and the surviving couple received a life sentence.

* January 13, 1939 - Arthur Doc Barker, Dale Stamfil, William Martin, Henry Young and Raphas McCain escaped from the isolation compartment to the building where the prison cells were located. They sawed down the bars, climbed out of the building through the window, and headed for the water's edge. The guard found the fugitives already on west bank islands. Martin, Young, and McCain surrendered, while Barker and Stamfil, who refused to obey orders, were wounded. Barker died a few days later.

* May 21, 1941 - Joe Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Arnold Kyle and Lloyd Backdoll took several guards under whose supervision they worked hostage. But the guards managed to convince the prisoners to surrender. It is significant that one of these guards later became the third commandant of Alcatraz.

* September 15, 1941 - John Bayles tried to run while he was cleaning up the trash. But freezing water in San Francisco Bay forced him back to shore. Later, when he was taken to a federal court in San Francisco, he tried to escape from there as well. But again without success.

* April 14, 1943 - James Borman, Harold Brest, Floyd Hamilton, and Fred Hunter took two guards hostage in a prison-working area. Through the window they climbed out and jumped into the water. But one of the guards managed to signal the state of emergency to his colleagues, and the officers who set off in the footsteps of the fugitives overtook them only at the moment when they were already sailing away from the island. Some of the guards rushed into the water, someone opened fire. As a result, Hunter and Brest were detained, Bormann was wounded and he drowned. And Hamilton was declared drowned. Although in fact he hid in a small gorge for two days, and then returned to the territory where the prisoners worked. There he was captured by the guards.

* August 7, 1943 - Charon Ted Walters disappeared from the laundry, but he was caught on the shore of the bay.

* July 31, 1945 - one of the most thoughtful attempts to escape. John Giles often worked in the prison laundry, which also washed army uniforms that were sent to the island specifically for this purpose. Once he stole a complete set of uniforms, changed clothes and calmly left the prison and went to lunch with the military. Unfortunately for him, the military dined on Angel Island that day, not in San Francisco, as Giles had supposed. In addition, his disappearance from prison was immediately noticed. Therefore, as soon as he was on Angel Island, he was arrested and sent back to Alcatraz.

* May 2-4, 1946 - this day is known as the "Battle of Alcatraz". Six prisoners disarmed the guards and seized a bunch of keys to the cell block. But their plan began to falter when the prisoners discovered that they did not have the key to the door leading to the recreation yard. Soon the prison administration became suspicious. But instead of surrendering, the prisoners resisted. As a result, four of them returned to their cells, but first opened fire on the guards taken hostage. One officer died from his wounds, and a second officer was killed while trying to regain control of the cell block. About 18 guards were wounded. American sailors were immediately called to help, and on May 4 the riot ended with the killing of three prisoners. Subsequently, two "rebels" received a death sentence and ended their days in a gas chamber in 1948. And the 19-year-old participant in the riot received life imprisonment.

* July 23, 1956 - Floyd Wilson disappeared from work at the dock. For several hours he hid among the rocks, but when he was discovered, he gave up.

* September 29, 1958 - While cleaning up debris, Aaor Bargett and Clyde Johnson incapacitated a prison officer and attempted to swim away. Johnson was caught in the water, but Bargett disappeared. An intensive search yielded no results. Bargett's body was found in San Francisco Bay two weeks later.

* June 11, 1962 - This is the most famous escape attempt thanks to Clint Eastwood and the movie "Escape from Alcatraz" (1979). Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin were able to disappear from their cells and were never seen again. A fourth person, Allen West, also participated in the preparations for the escape, but for unknown reasons remained in the cell the next morning when the escape was discovered. The investigation showed that the fugitives prepared not only fake bricks to cover the holes made in the wall, but also realistic dolls in beds stuffed with human hair to hide the absence of prisoners during night rounds. The trio exited through the ventilation pipe adjacent to their cells. The fugitives climbed up the pipe to the roof of the prison block (they had previously straightened the iron bars in the ventilation). At the north end of the building, they climbed down the drainpipe, and thus reached the water. As a watercraft, they used prison jackets and a raft made in advance. As a result of a thorough search in the cells of the fugitives, they found tools with which the prisoners hollowed out the walls, and in the bay they found one life jacket, converted from a prison jacket, oars, as well as carefully packed photographs and letters belonging to the Anglin brothers. A few weeks later, the body of a man was found in the water, dressed in a blue suit similar to a prison uniform, but the condition of the body did not allow him to be identified. Morris and the Anglin brothers are officially listed as missing and presumed drowned.

On March 21, 1963, the Alcatraz prison was closed. According to the official version, this was done because of the high cost of maintaining prisoners on the island. The prison required repairs in the amount of about 3-5 million dollars. In addition, the maintenance of prisoners on the island was too expensive compared to the mainland prison, since everything had to be regularly imported from the mainland.

Currently, the prison has been disbanded, the island has been turned into a museum, where the ferry goes from San Francisco from Pier 33.

Since ancient times, the sophisticated mind of man has tried to come up with such a terrible punishment for a criminal, carried out necessarily publicly, in order to frighten the assembled crowd with this spectacle and discourage her from any desire to commit criminal acts. This is how the most terrible executions in the world appeared, but most of them, fortunately, became the property of history.

1. Bull Falarida

The ancient instrument of execution - the "copper bull" or "bull Falaris" was invented by the Athenian Peripius in the VI century BC. e. From copper sheets they made a huge bull, hollow inside and having a door on the side or on the back. A man could fit inside the bull. The one sentenced to death was put inside the bull, the door was closed and a fire was kindled under the belly of the bull. The nostrils and eyes of the bull had holes through which the cries of the roasting victim were heard - it seemed that the bull himself was roaring. The inventor of this instrument of execution himself became his first victim - so the tyrant Falarid decided to test the device's performance. But Peripius was not fried to death, but was taken out in time, in order to then “mercifully” be thrown into the abyss. However, Falarid himself later came to know the belly of a copper bull.

2. Hanging, gutting and quartering

This multi-stage execution was practiced in England and applied to traitors to the crown, since it was the most serious crime at that time. It was applied only to men, and women were lucky - their body was considered unsuitable for such an execution, so they were tritely burned alive. This bloody and brutal execution was legal in "civilized" Britain until 1814.
At first, the convicts were dragged to the place of execution, tied to a horse, and then, in order not to kill the victim during transportation, they began to lay them in front of the drag on a kind of sleigh. After this, the condemned was hanged, but not to death, but was taken out of the noose in time and laid on the scaffold. Then the executioner cut off the victim's genitals, opened the stomach and took out the insides, which were burned right there so that the executed person could see it. Then the offender was beheaded, and the body was cut into 4 parts. After that, usually the head of the executed was planted on a pike, which was fixed on the bridge in the Tower, and the rest of the body was transported to the largest English cities, where they were also flaunted - this was the usual wish of the king.

3. Burning

People have adapted to burn the condemned alive in two ways. In the first case, a person was tied to a vertical pole and surrounded on all sides with brushwood and firewood - in this case, he burned in a ring of fire. It is believed that this is how Joan of Arc was executed. In another method, the condemned was placed on top of a stack of firewood and also chained to a pole, and the firewood was set on fire from below, so in this case the flame slowly rose along the stack and climbed to the legs and then to the rest of the body of the unfortunate.
If the executioner was skilled in his work, then the burning was carried out in a certain sequence: first the ankles, then the hips, then the arms, then the torso with forearms, the chest, and finally the face. It was the most painful kind of burning. Sometimes the executions were massive, then part of the condemned did not die from burns, but simply suffocated from carbon monoxide released during combustion. If the firewood was damp, and the fire was too weak, then the victim was more likely to die from heatstroke, blood loss, or pain shock. Later, people became more "humane" - before burning, the victim was hung, and already fell on the fire dead body. In this way, witches were most often burned throughout Europe, with the exception of the British Isles.

4. Lynchy

Eastern people were especially sophisticated in torture and execution. So, the Chinese came up with a very cruel execution of linchi, which consisted in the fact that small pieces of flesh were slowly cut off from the victim. This type of execution was used in China until 1905. The sentenced was gradually cut off pieces of meat from the arms and legs, stomach and chest, and only at the very end they plunged a knife into the heart and cut off the head. There are sources claiming that such an execution could stretch for several days, but this still seems to be an exaggeration.
Here is how an eyewitness, one of the journalists, described such an execution: “The condemned was tied to a cross, after which the armed sharp knife the executioner grabbed handfuls of fleshy parts of the body on the thighs with his fingers and carefully cut them off the chest. He then trimmed the tendons of the joints and protruding parts of the body, including the fingers, ears, and nose. Then came the turn of the limbs, starting with the ankles and wrists, then higher at the knees and elbows, after which the remains were cut off at the exit from the torso. Only after that followed a direct stab in the heart and cutting off the head.

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5. Wheeling

Wheeling, or as they said in some countries, "Catherine's wheel" was widely used for executions in the Middle Ages. The offender was tied to a wheel and all his large bones and spine were broken with an iron crowbar. After that, the wheel was horizontally fixed on a pillar with a pile of meat and bones of the ground victim lying on top. Birds often came to feast on the meat of a still living person. At the same time, the victim could live for several more days until he died from dehydration and pain shock. The French made this execution more humane - before the execution, they strangled the convict.

6. Welding in boiling water

The offender was stripped naked and put into a vat of boiling liquid, which could be not only water, but also tar, acid, oil or lead. Sometimes it was placed in a cold liquid, which was heated from below by a fire. Sometimes criminals were hung on a chain, on which they were lowered into boiling water, where they were boiled. This type of execution was widely used for counterfeiters and poisoners in England during the reign of Henry VIII.

7. Skinning

In this variant of slow killing, either all the skin or some parts of it were removed from the body of the convict. The skin was removed with a sharp knife, trying to keep it intact - after all, it was then supposed to serve to intimidate the people. This type of execution has ancient history. According to legend, the Apostle Bartholomew was crucified upside down on the St. Andrew's Cross and skinned from him. The Assyrians skinned their enemies to intimidate the population of captured cities. Among the Mexican Aztecs, skinning was of a ritual nature, it often touched the head (scalping), but even the bloodthirsty Indians usually scalped corpses. This by no means humane form of execution is already banned everywhere, but in one village in Myanmar, all men were recently skinned.

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8. Impaling

A well-known type of execution, where the offender was hoisted onto a vertical pointed stake. Until the 18th century, this method of execution was used by the Commonwealth, which executed so many Zaporozhye Cossacks. But they also knew it in Sweden of the 17th century. Here, peritonitis or blood loss leads to death, and death occurs very slowly, after a few days.
In Romania, when impaling women, the instrument of execution was inserted into the vagina, then they died faster from heavy bleeding. A man planted on a sharp stake, under the influence of his own weight, descended lower and lower along it, and the stake gradually tore apart his insides. So that the victim would not get rid of the torment too quickly, the stake was sometimes made not sharp, but rounded and lubricated with fat - then it penetrated more slowly and did not tear the organs. Another innovation was the transverse bars nailed slightly below the end of the stake, dropping to which the victim did not have time to damage vital organs and, again, suffered even longer.

9. Skafism

This ancient oriental way execution is unhygienic, but causes an agonizing long death. The sentenced was completely undressed, smeared with honey and placed in a narrow boat or a hollowed out tree trunk, and covered with the same object from above. It turned out something like a turtle: only the limbs and the head of the victim stuck out, which they heavily fed with honey and milk to cause uncontrollable diarrhea. A similar design was either placed in the sun, or allowed to swim in a pond with stagnant water. The object quickly attracted the attention of insects, which penetrated the inside of the boat, where they slowly gnawed on the body of the victim, laying larvae there until sepsis began.
"Compassionate" executioners continued to feed the poor fellow every day in order to prolong his suffering. Finally, he usually died from a combination of septic shock and dehydration. Plutarch reported that this is how they executed the king Mithridates, who killed Cyrus the Younger, who suffered for 17 days. In a similar way American Indians also used executions - they tied a victim to a tree, smeared with mud and oil, leaving it to be eaten by ants.

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10. Sawing

The condemned to death was hung upside down with legs apart and started sawing in the groin area. The victim's head was at a low point, so the brain was better supplied with blood and, despite the huge loss of blood, was conscious longer. Sometimes the victim survived, being sawn already to the diaphragm. This execution was known both in Europe and somewhere in Asia. They say that the emperor Caligula loved to have fun so much. But in the Asian version, sawing was carried out from the head.

25. Skafism

An ancient Persian method of execution, when a person was stripped naked and placed in a tree trunk so that only the head, arms and legs protruded. They were then fed only milk and honey until the victim had severe diarrhea. Thus, honey got into all open areas of the body, which was supposed to attract insects. As the person's feces accumulated, the insects became increasingly attracted and they began to feed and multiply in his/her skin, which would become more gangrenous. Death can take over 2 weeks and most likely resulted from starvation, dehydration, and shock.

24. Guillotine

Created in the late 1700s, it was one of the first execution methods that called for the end of life rather than the infliction of pain. Although the guillotine was specifically invented as a form of human execution, it was banned in France, and in last time used in 1977.

23. Republican marriage

A very strange method of execution was practiced in France. The man and woman were tied together and then thrown into the river to be drowned.

22. Cement shoes

The method of execution preferred to use the American mafia. Similar to the Republican Marriage in that drowning is used, but instead of being bonded to a person of the opposite sex, the victim's feet were placed in concrete blocks.

21. Execution by an elephant

Elephants in South-East Asia often trained to prolong the death of the victim. The elephant is a heavy animal, but easily trained. Teaching him to stomp on criminals on command has always been a fascinating thing. Many times this method has been used to show that there are rulers even in the natural world.

20. Plank Walk

Mostly practiced by pirates and sailors. The victims often did not have time to drown, as they were attacked by sharks, which usually followed the ships.

19. Bestiary - being torn apart by wild animals

Bestiaries are criminals in Ancient Rome who were given to be torn apart wild animals. Although sometimes the act was voluntary and carried out for money or recognition, often bestiaries were political prisoners who were sent into the arena naked and unable to defend themselves.

18. Mazatello

The method is named after the weapon used during the execution, usually a hammer. This method of capital punishment was popular in the papal state in the 18th century. The convict was escorted to the scaffold in the square and he was left alone with the executioner and the coffin. Then the executioner raised the hammer and struck the victim's head. Since such a blow, as a rule, did not lead to death, the throat of the victims was cut immediately after the blow.

17. Vertical "shaker"

Originating in the United States, this method of capital punishment is now commonly used in countries such as Iran. Although this is very similar to hanging, in this case To sever the spinal cord, the victims were violently lifted up by the neck, usually with the help of a crane.

16. Sawing

Allegedly used in parts of Europe and Asia. The victim was turned upside down and then sawn in half, starting at the groin. Since the victim was upside down, the brain received enough blood to keep the victim conscious while the large vessels abdominal cavity were torn apart.

15. skinning

The act of removing skin from a person's body. This type of execution was often used to stir up fear, as the execution was usually carried out in a public place in front of everyone.

14. Blood Eagle

This type of execution was described in the Scandinavian sagas. The ribs of the victim were broken so that they resembled wings. Then light victims were pulled through the hole between the ribs. The wounds were sprinkled with salt.

13. Grid for torture

Roasting the victim on hot coals.

12. Crush

Although you have already read about the elephant crush method, there is another similar method. Crushing was popular in Europe and America as a method of torture. Each time the victim refused to comply, more weight was placed on their chest until the victim died from lack of air.

11. Wheeling

Also known as Catherine's Wheel. The wheel looked like an ordinary cart wheel, only large sizes from big amount spokes. The victim was undressed, arms and legs were laid out and tied, then the executioner beat the victim with a large hammer, breaking the bones. At the same time, the executioner tried not to inflict mortal blows.

So the most brutal executions and torture top 10:

10. Spanish tickler

The method is also known as "cat's paws". These devices were used by the executioner, tearing and tearing the skin from the victim. Often death did not occur immediately, but as a result of infection.

9. Burning at the stake

In history, the most popular method of the death penalty. If the victim was lucky, then he or she was executed along with several others. This ensured that the flames would be large and that death would result from poisoning. carbon monoxide and not from being burned alive.

8. Bamboo

An extremely slow and painful punishment was used in Asia. Bamboo stalks sticking out of the ground were sharpened. Then, over the place where this bamboo grew, the accused was hung up. Fast growth bamboo and its pointed tops allowed the plant to pierce the human body through and through in one night.

7. Premature burial

This technique has been used by governments throughout the history of capital punishment. One of the last documented cases was during the Nanjing massacre in 1937, when Japanese troops buried Chinese citizens alive.

6. Ling Chi

Also known as "death by slow cutting" or "slow death", this form of execution was eventually outlawed in China in the early 20th century. The organs of the victim's body were slowly and methodically removed while the executioner tried to keep him or her alive for as long as possible.

5. Seppuku

A form of ritual suicide that allowed the warrior to die with honor. It was used by the samurai.

4. Copper bull

The design of this death unit was developed by the ancient Greeks, namely the coppersmith Perill, who sold the terrible bull to the Sicilian tyrant Falaris so that he could execute criminals in a new way. Inside the copper statue, through the door, a living person was placed. And then ... Falaris first tested the unit on its developer, the unfortunate greedy Perilla. Subsequently, Falaris himself was roasted in a bull.

3. Colombian tie

The throat of a person is cut with a knife, and the tongue protrudes through the hole. This method of murder indicated that the victim had given the police some information.

2. Crucifixion

A particularly cruel method of execution was used mainly by the Romans. It was as slow, painful and humiliating as it could be. Usually after a long period of beating or torture, the victim was forced to carry his cross to the place of his death. Subsequently, she was either nailed or tied to a cross, where she hung for several weeks. Death, as a rule, came from lack of air.

1 Worst Executions: Hanged, Drowned, and Dismembered

Mainly used in England. The method is regarded as one of the most brutal forms of execution ever created. As the name implies, the execution was performed in three parts. Part one - the victim was tied to a wooden frame. So she hung almost to death. Immediately after that, the victim's stomach was cut open, and the insides were taken out and removed. Further, the insides were burned in front of the victim. The condemned man was then beheaded. After all this, his body was divided into four parts and scattered throughout England as a public display. This punishment was applied only to men, condemned women, as a rule, were burned at the stake.